The foreign policy portion of the debate focused on Iraq, Iran, Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Sen. McCain: “I’m not prepared at this time to cut off aid to Pakistan. So I’m not prepared to threaten it, as Senator Obama apparently wants to do, as he has said that he would announce military strikes into Pakistan. We’ve got to get the support of the people of — of Pakistan. He said that he would launch military strikes into Pakistan. Now, you don’t do that. You don’t say that out loud. If you have to do things, you have to do things, and you work with the Pakistani government.”

Senator Barack Obama challenged McCain.

Sen. Obama: “Nobody talked about attacking Pakistan. Here’s what I said. And if John wants to disagree with this, he can let me know, that if the United States has al-Qaeda, bin Laden, top-level lieutenants in our sights, and Pakistan is unable or unwilling to act, then we should take them out. Now, I think that’s the right strategy; I think that’s the right policy. And, John, I — you’re absolutely right that presidents have to be prudent in what they say. But, you know, coming from you, who, you know, in the past has threatened extinction for North Korea and, you know, sung songs about bombing Iran, I don’t know, you know, how credible that is. I think this is the right strategy.”

After the debate, Obama’s running mate Joseph Biden appeared on almost every newscast offering post-debate commentary. McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin gave no interviews. However, she did make headlines on Saturday. During a campaign stop in Philadelphia, a graduate student at Temple asked her whether the US should cross the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan. Palin said absolutely.

Sarah Palin: “If that’s what we have to do to stop the terrorists from coming any further in, absolutely, we should.”

On Sunday, Senator McCain attempted to retract Palin’s comment. The first and only vice-presidential debate will be held on Thursday at Washington University in St. Louis.